The essence of a woman leader in the new normal

Madhabi Puri Buch has been appointed the Chairperson of the Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI), she is the first woman to head the markets regulator. Women have been increasingly breaking through all barriers to take charge of leadership roles – be it organisations or start-ups or even countries. The global pandemic saw women leaders come to the forefront, with research stating that countries headed by women leaders handled the Covid crisis in a much more efficient way, especially in the first wave – most notably New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern, Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen, Finland’s Sanna Marin, Germany’s Angela Merkel, and Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen. Tsai Ing-wen is also leading her country in remaining defiant against Chinese invasion threats.

Women have the ability to take crisis in their stride, putting out the flames and then redirecting everyone in a way that leads to success. Leading by example, a successful woman also tends to lead by example. India’s foremost and most successful woman political leader late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who was one of the first to show the path to every woman in our country to boldly take on leadership roles. Similarly, UK had her Iron Lady in Margret Thatcher, while Israel’s Iron Lady was Golda Meir, the fourth Prime Minister of the country. It was Meir who ordered the Mossad to hunt down the terrorists responsible for the killing of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

There is a different dimension to being a great leader, which primarily starts from the passion and energy one exhibits. If you look at sports, we’ve had very few women who were on the top, but the over the last decade we have seen so many women stars who have excelled in sports globally – from PT Usha, Diana Edulji to Sania Mirza, Saina Nehwal, PV SIndhu and Geeta & Babita Phogat, Mary Kom, Lovlina Borgohain, Joshna Chinnappa, Mithali Raj and many more.

The spirit of entrepreneurship drove Falguni Nayar to set up her beauty e-commerce chain Nykaa, which had a terrific debut on the stock exchanges and is today one of the most talked about companies in the Indian corporate circle. Mayar set up her own venture at the age of 50 with literally no experience, but a lot of passion and inspiration to make it happen. Today, she is India’s richest self-made woman billionaire.

Similarly, much before Nayar, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has been blazing a trail in the pharmaceutical sector as a first-generation entrepreneur. It was her passion and utmost faith in her dream that drove her to start her Biotech journey. She is a role model for many aspiring leaders and is a true woman thought leader in the pharmaceutical sector.

Debjani Ghosh, President, NASSCOM, is a successful business leader and one of the most promising woman leader in the technology field. She was named the ‘Tech Leader of the year 2020’ by Vogue and was listed among India’s most powerful women in tech by Business Today. She was the first to lead Intel India and MAIT. For Ghosh, gender has never been a thing for her nor will it ever be. Her dream is to make India digitally the most powerful country so that when the world thinks digital, the world will think India. She is a leader with a clear mind, who means action and business.

However, it still remains a challenging environment for women to step up their position to take on leadership roles, even as today the doors are opening and corporates are looking at meritocracy and performance to induct more women leaders in organisations.

There are some key traits that are common in women leaders. These are:

• Passion and strong self-belief
• Should be able to delegate and nurture your team.
• Clear focus to achieve one ‘s goals
• Building teams and leading teams with example and from the front.
• Asking questions and be fearless in taking bold decision.
• Never shy away from seeking help.

There will be endless debates on women and leadership, but the light at the end of the tunnel is now glowing as India needs more women leaders. With opportunities opening up, the world indeed is women leaders’ oyster.

Meet India’s outstanding women leaders at the Women Disruptors 2022 event on Thursday, March 3, 2022.

Click here to register.